28 Av 5983 / 15 August 2023
Day 227 Readings
Torah: Shoftim, 3rd Portion Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:1-5
18 (iii) The cohanim, who are L’vi’im, and indeed the whole tribe of Levi, is not to have a share or an inheritance with Isra’el. Instead, their support will come from the food offered by fire to Adonai and from whatever else becomes his. 2 They will have no inheritance with their brothers, because Adonai is their inheritance — as he has said to them.
3 “The cohanim will have the right to receive from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether ox or sheep, the shoulder, the jowls and the stomach. 4 You will also give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep. 5 For Adonai your God has chosen him from all your tribes to stand and serve in the name of Adonai, him and his sons forever.
Bible Study Together:
Psalm 5:1-12
A Prayer for Guidance
To the Chief Musician. With [a]flutes. A Psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord,Consider my [b]meditation.2 Give heed to the voice of my cry,My King and my God,For to You I will pray.3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;In the morning I will direct it to You,And I will look up.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,Nor shall evil [c]dwell with You.5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;You hate all workers of iniquity.6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;In fear of You I will worship toward [d]Your holy temple.8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;Make Your way straight before my face.
9 For there is no [e]faithfulness in their mouth;Their inward part is destruction;Their throat is an open tomb;They flatter with their tongue.10 Pronounce them guilty, O God!Let them fall by their own counsels;Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,For they have rebelled against You.
11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;Let them ever shout for joy, because You [f]defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
Psalm 10
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
1 Why do You stand far away, Lord?Why do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy;[b]Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire,And [c]the greedy person curses and shows disrespect to the Lord.4 The wicked, [d]in his haughtiness, does not seek Him.There is no God in all his schemes.
5 His ways succeed at all times;Yet Your judgments are on high, out of his sight;As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved;[e]Throughout the generations I will not be in adversity.”7 His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression;Under his tongue is harm and injustice.8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;He kills the innocent in the secret places;His eyes [f]surreptitiously watch for the [g]unfortunate.9 He lurks in secret like a lion in his [h]lair;He lurks to catch the needy;He catches the needy when he pulls him into his net.10 Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers;And [i]unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, Lord; God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the humble.13 Why has the wicked treated God disrespectfully?He has said to himself, “[j]You will not require an account.”14 You have seen it, for You have looked at harm and provocation to [k]take it into Your hand.The [l]unfortunate commits himself to You;You have been the helper of the orphan.15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,[m]Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;Nations have perished from His land.17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;You will strengthen their heart, You will make Your ear attentive18 To [n]vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause terror.
Psalm 14 New American Standard Bible
Foolishness and Wickedness of People.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts;There is no one who does good.2 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankindTo see if there are any who [a]understand,Who seek God.3 They have all turned aside, together they are corrupt;There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Do all the workers of injustice not know,Who devour my people as they eat bread,And do not call upon the Lord?5 There they are in great dread,For God is with a righteous generation.6 You would put to shame the plan of the poor,But the Lord is his refuge.
7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!When the Lord restores the fortunes of His people,Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.
Psalam 36:1-12
Wickedness of Humanity and Goodness of God.
For the music director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
1 [a]Wrongdoing speaks to the ungodly within [b]his heart;There is no fear of God before his eyes.2 For it flatters him in his own eyesConcerning the discovery of his wrongful deed and the hatred of it.3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;He has ceased to [c]be wise and to do good.4 He plans wickedness on his bed;He sets himself on a path that is not good;He does not reject evil.
5 Your mercy, Lord, [d]extends to the heavens,Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.6 Your righteousness is like the [e]mountains of God;Your judgments are like the great deep.Lord, You [f]protect mankind and animals.7 How precious is Your mercy, God!And the sons of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.8 They drink their fill of the [g]abundance of Your house;And You allow them to drink from the river of Your delights.9 For the fountain of life is with You;In Your light we see light.
10 Prolong Your mercy to those who know You,And Your righteousness to the upright of heart.11 May the foot of pride not come upon me,And may the hand of the wicked not drive me away.12 Those who do injustice have fallen there;They have been thrust down and cannot rise.
Romans 3:9-20
9 So are we Jews better off? Not entirely; for I have already made the charge that all people, Jews and Gentiles alike, are controlled by sin. 10 As the Tanakh puts it,
“There is no one righteous, not even one!No one understands,11 no one seeks God,12 all have turned awayand at the same time become useless;there is no one who shows kindness, not a single one![a]
13 “Their throats are open graves,they use their tongues to deceive.[b]Vipers’ venom is under their lips.[c]14 Their mouths are full of curses and bitterness.[d]
15 “Their feet rush to shed blood,16 in their ways are ruin and misery,17 and the way of shalom they do not know.[e]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[f]
19 Moreover, we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those living within the framework of the Torah, in order that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be shown to deserve God’s adverse judgment. 20 For in his sight no one alive will be considered righteous[g] on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, because what Torah really does is show people how sinful they are.
365 Daily Kingdom Living
Devotional
Nehemiah 9-10
1 Corinthians 9:13-27
13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share [h]from the altar? 14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
15 But I have used none of these things. And I have not written these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than that. No one shall make my boast an empty one! 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for I am under compulsion; for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a commission nonetheless. 18 What, then, is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
Psalm 34:1-10
The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34 I will bless the Lord at all times;His praise shall continually be in my mouth.2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;The humble shall hear of it and be glad.3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me,And delivered me from all my fears.5 They looked to Him and were radiant,And their faces were not ashamed.6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,And saved him out of all his troubles.7 The [a]angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!There is no [b]want to those who fear Him.10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Proverbs 21:13
13 Whoever stops up his ears at the cry of the poor will himself cry, but not be answered.